Construction standards in Puerto Vallarta are different than what we have in the States. In the States, we use a lot of sheetrock and wood for the principal construction. In Puerto Vallarta, you'll find some sheetrock in new construction. Old construction used reinforced concrete and concrete blocks. You don't have real issues with fire insurance in Puerto Vallarta because there's nothing to burn. .png)
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The main town is San Juan Del Sur. Here is where you will find bars, restaurants, stores, shops and a port. Then when you go south, the next big development you will get to is Playa El Coco, which is about 8 miles away from San Juan Del Sur by car. There are a couple of hotels in Playa El Coco and a lot of Nicaraguans have beach houses there. Keep going south and you will hit La Flor, which is almost an hour drive away from San Juan Del Sur. It is close to the Costa Rican border....
Well... in my case I had little choice- my preferred country, Australia has become too expensive for me so I had to find somewhere that made my meager pension and savings go further. The argument that everywhere else is as costly as 'home' is false. 
The Portuguese banks are not in a great state of health. The Spanish banks are in much better shape. However, Portuguese banks have a guarantee of up to 100,000 euros, which is provided by the Portuguese government. So generally, I would feel secure putting my money into a Portuguese bank account. How Traveling and Living Abroad Gave Me a Better Perspective on Time and Happiness
One of the great advantages of traveling, or better yet, living in a different country, is to see how others live their lives. If we are open to it, we can gain perspective and insight, not only into the human condition in general, but more pointedly, into our own condition. I'll give you an example.
While on a road trip for Best Places in the World to Retire, we have traveled by car thousands of miles through Mexico, from the California border in...
We thank Daryl Ries for giving us the idea to have Jet Metier interview select contributors of Best Places who enliven our pages with their experiences and revelations. The conversation began with Daryl talking about a real estate expo she had attended just prior to their scheduled talk, and then continued with Daryl reviewing her life on four continents. In a chronological sleight of hand, we present the second part of the interview first, where Daryl speaks of her...